Agricultural rakes adapted for towing through fields by means of a tractor have long been known in the art. Exemplary implements have been described and disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,103,776 to Van Der Lely et al., 3,443,644 to J. C. Schindelka, 4,206,812 to F. W. Viel, and 4,040,490 to R. R. Anderson.
At the present time, the sole commercially available rakes, deleteriously, show a propensity to damage of the tines when the latter encounter rocks or the like in the ground. The reason for this ready damage would appear to reside in the fact that rake wheels of the prior art are functional to move only in a vertical direction when hitting obstacles. There exists, therefore, the need for a more rugged and durable rake.